Last week, Google added a new social networking aspect to their Gmail client. The idea seems to be that you would sign up to follow friends of yours and get updates from their linked YouTube, Twitter, and blog accounts.
However, over the weekend I saw this post on the Cnet blog and I agree with it. I don't think Google's Buzz is suddenly going to explode and take over Facebook.
As a Facebook user, I am not terribly impressed with Buzz. What I like about Facebook is that I can speak with friends with Facebook's built in instant messenger that I otherwise would not be able to contact. Friends who either do not have other IM accounts, or who never told me their e-mails.
I also enjoy playing some of the games that are available on Facebook to help me relax during the day. Google has yet to come out with a Games site (that I know of) where I can just take a few minutes and play a quick game.
On the other hand, my experience with Buzz is that it mostly meaningless Twitter posts that come through, on a regular basis. There is a reason I never signed up for Twitter before, because, as much as I like my friends, I don't need updates on what they're doing twenty times a day. I would rather sit down on AIM and just talk to them once, for a longer period of time. Therefore Buzz has only annoyed me thus far and unless it changes drastically, I don't see it becoming any less annoying a time goes on.
February 15, 2010
February 01, 2010
iPad the Future, but not Today
After all the hype and news stories about Apple's new iPad, I finally got some time to sit down and watch the keynote video.
Once I got past the marketing speeches in the beginning, I found the concept interesting. I think that computers will all eventually head in the direction the iPad has gone first. But I don't think the technology will come into it's own for a few years.
In the keynote speech, Steve Jobs mentioned that apple invented the first practial laptop computer, but laptops now have gone far beyond the Powerbook he showed in the screen and laptops did not become common until just a few years ago. I think that the idea of a portable touch-screen computer is a good idea and I think it will eventually become more widely popular, but it's still an infant technology for now.
I have high hopes for miniature touch screen computers, as a Star Trek fan, but I think I'll wait until they have larger hard drives and more program compatibility before I seriously consider a handheld touch-screen computer.
Once I got past the marketing speeches in the beginning, I found the concept interesting. I think that computers will all eventually head in the direction the iPad has gone first. But I don't think the technology will come into it's own for a few years.
In the keynote speech, Steve Jobs mentioned that apple invented the first practial laptop computer, but laptops now have gone far beyond the Powerbook he showed in the screen and laptops did not become common until just a few years ago. I think that the idea of a portable touch-screen computer is a good idea and I think it will eventually become more widely popular, but it's still an infant technology for now.
I have high hopes for miniature touch screen computers, as a Star Trek fan, but I think I'll wait until they have larger hard drives and more program compatibility before I seriously consider a handheld touch-screen computer.
April 02, 2009
After reading two opposing viewpoints on the iPad release, I do think that the iPad will be a big deal in the computer world. I do think that it can be used in a variety of different ways, but I also do not think that it will be able to replace a fully-featured computer. At least not for a little while.
At this point I see the iPad as being a very interesting, but also very expensive toy. I might get one someday, if I have the money to spare, but I don't need one at this very moment. I think that the normal consumers, especially in the older adult range, will feel similarly.
For all that its main purpose is multimedia, I would not be able to store my multimedia on CDs or DVDs and pop them into my iPad whenever I wanted. And after at least 10 years of active and intensive computer use, I have quite the collection of media on homemade CDs and DVDs. Especially the backups of projects I've started over the years. I am a bit of a media packrat, so I'm rather turned off by the idea of not being able to just pop in one of my CDs to listen to the music on there. Even more so for videos, because I have far more videos than would fit on the iPad.
I think the idea of the pop-up keyboard for typing is a good one, but considering the size of the iPad, it would be very cramped and uncomfortable to type on, much like with a netbook. The small size of the keyboard was a large factor in my complete apathy towards netbooks.
Also, I think that the fact that it is camera-less and mic-less will turn some people off. While I personally feel uncomfortable speaking to my electronic devices, I think there are many other people, the kind of people that use Skype or other video chat programs, who will be turned off of the iPad because they can't use it for video chat/calling friends, despite being on a cell network.
The article in favor of the universal iPad mentioned casual gamers, too. I consider myself to be a very casual gamer and I am proud of it. I most definitely do not like the more "serious" games. Instead, I prefer short, simple, even stupid games that I can play for five minutes and turn off. To that end, I mostly play flash or shockwave based games on various websites. If the iPad is like the iPhone and does not support flash programs, that will be a big turnoff for me. If I want a fast game, I want to be able to go to a free website and just load up a game quickly. Either that, or I would like to be able to load games from my personal collection by means of, say, a CD drive.
Personally, the biggest appeal of the iPad is in its pressure-sensitive screen. In the recent past, I got a Wacom Bamboo tablet for my PC so that I could have the pressure sensitivity in my art programs. I would be very interested in seeing Photoshop on the iPad because I think the two would go very well together. I once tried to use a pressure-sensitive drawing program for my Nintendo DS, and it worked very well before the card it was on stopped working properly. However, I doubt that Photoshop would be installable on the iPad and, even if it was, I would have no way to properly store my works without access to a much larger computer. Since I would need the larger computer anyways, I would rather just spend my money on upgrading my desktop or saving for a larger finger-controlled computer tablet.
And if I would be better served dumping that same $500 into my existing computer, for a touch-screen monitor or a new computer tablet, that shoves the iPad into the category of Expensive Toy instead of being a necessity for my daily life, like my desktop is. I am perhaps old-fashioned for doing so, but during all this iPad hype, I'm rooting for the desktop tower computer. I think that, while they are hard to move, most people do not need to move their computers all over the place, and some might even benefit from spending a few hours without a computer near them. I like being able to walk away from my computer and not have it bother me until I go back to it, in my own time. The only thing I really want to be portable is my music, and that is accomplished much easier by purchasing a $30 mp3 player than a $500 iPad.
At this point I see the iPad as being a very interesting, but also very expensive toy. I might get one someday, if I have the money to spare, but I don't need one at this very moment. I think that the normal consumers, especially in the older adult range, will feel similarly.
For all that its main purpose is multimedia, I would not be able to store my multimedia on CDs or DVDs and pop them into my iPad whenever I wanted. And after at least 10 years of active and intensive computer use, I have quite the collection of media on homemade CDs and DVDs. Especially the backups of projects I've started over the years. I am a bit of a media packrat, so I'm rather turned off by the idea of not being able to just pop in one of my CDs to listen to the music on there. Even more so for videos, because I have far more videos than would fit on the iPad.
I think the idea of the pop-up keyboard for typing is a good one, but considering the size of the iPad, it would be very cramped and uncomfortable to type on, much like with a netbook. The small size of the keyboard was a large factor in my complete apathy towards netbooks.
Also, I think that the fact that it is camera-less and mic-less will turn some people off. While I personally feel uncomfortable speaking to my electronic devices, I think there are many other people, the kind of people that use Skype or other video chat programs, who will be turned off of the iPad because they can't use it for video chat/calling friends, despite being on a cell network.
The article in favor of the universal iPad mentioned casual gamers, too. I consider myself to be a very casual gamer and I am proud of it. I most definitely do not like the more "serious" games. Instead, I prefer short, simple, even stupid games that I can play for five minutes and turn off. To that end, I mostly play flash or shockwave based games on various websites. If the iPad is like the iPhone and does not support flash programs, that will be a big turnoff for me. If I want a fast game, I want to be able to go to a free website and just load up a game quickly. Either that, or I would like to be able to load games from my personal collection by means of, say, a CD drive.
Personally, the biggest appeal of the iPad is in its pressure-sensitive screen. In the recent past, I got a Wacom Bamboo tablet for my PC so that I could have the pressure sensitivity in my art programs. I would be very interested in seeing Photoshop on the iPad because I think the two would go very well together. I once tried to use a pressure-sensitive drawing program for my Nintendo DS, and it worked very well before the card it was on stopped working properly. However, I doubt that Photoshop would be installable on the iPad and, even if it was, I would have no way to properly store my works without access to a much larger computer. Since I would need the larger computer anyways, I would rather just spend my money on upgrading my desktop or saving for a larger finger-controlled computer tablet.
And if I would be better served dumping that same $500 into my existing computer, for a touch-screen monitor or a new computer tablet, that shoves the iPad into the category of Expensive Toy instead of being a necessity for my daily life, like my desktop is. I am perhaps old-fashioned for doing so, but during all this iPad hype, I'm rooting for the desktop tower computer. I think that, while they are hard to move, most people do not need to move their computers all over the place, and some might even benefit from spending a few hours without a computer near them. I like being able to walk away from my computer and not have it bother me until I go back to it, in my own time. The only thing I really want to be portable is my music, and that is accomplished much easier by purchasing a $30 mp3 player than a $500 iPad.
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